konghou en

The konghou is a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument whose name historically referred to three different instruments: a zither and two types of harps—shu konghou (vertical angular harp) and feng shou konghou (arched harp), both now extinct.In the Tang dynasty, the term was used broadly to describe various foreign string instruments performed at the Chinese court, rather than a single, clearly defined instrument.Today, konghou most commonly refers to the modern concert harp, a 20th‑century invention inspired by these earlier traditions.